LAKELAND, Tenn.—The Opticians Association of America (OAA) has been working to help its members better communicate to the public and help them better define “What does an optician do?” in the minds of consumers. The group has now issued several new media branding tools to help in this goal, including a new logo, which it encourages all American opticians to use, a short, new explanatory video (the grand prize winner in the OAA’s recent video contest), a working definition of the term ‘dispensing optician,’ and more.
 
In addition, the OAA communicated late last week to its members that it has set aside funding to help its OAA member states who wish to use the opticianry video and/or the opticianry logo in their branding efforts. OAA members can fill out an application form and submit to OAA to request assistance for the branding program.
 
Said the OAA, “Over the past several years, the buzz word "branding" has been thrown around by many opticianry groups. The Opticians Association of America (OAA) has been working diligently on creating some things that can be used by any optician at any time to help the everyday consumer know what an optician is and does.”
 
“The first big task in helping the consumer understand ‘opticianry’ was to agree to a definition of a dispensing optician. The Opticians Association of America's board of directors adopted the U.S. Department of Labor's definition of an optician: "Dispensing opticians help fit eyeglasses and contact lenses, following prescriptions from ophthalmologists and optometrists. They also help customers decide which eyeglass frames or contact lenses to buy." The definition, the OAA emphasized, “is designed for an everyday consumer. It is not designed to cover scope of practice, certified, licensed, or registered opticians. The definition is designed to be simple and clear to a consumer.”
 
The OAA’s Great American Video Contest, established to help define opticianry in a more detailed fashion, generated over 60 entries. The winning video, titled “An Optician’s Main Focus,” is designed to help the everyday consumer get a better understanding of the profession. The OAA said, “This video was created to be used by any optician to help further explain what it is we do. This video is available at no charge to whoever wants to use it. Feel free to put it on your website, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, run it on TV or email it to your customers.” The video is shown below, as well as on YouTube.
 
A third initiative, a logo, was developed by a marketing expert who worked with the OAA  “to help us build a marketing image that is both informative and eye catching. In today's world, you only get about three seconds to explain your message. We were able to accomplish this by using four total words.” That image is also free and can be used by any optician in any social media, electronic or print format.  
 
A celebrity panel was put together to judge the OAA video contest, and the first place winner, Adam Chizmar, was announced last fall, along with two additional honorees, as VMail reported.